Product Description
Cutting herself doesn't make Ruth's problems disappear, but at least it helps her cope. She needs to find some way to heal her scars--the ones she hides and the ones she can't--before something terrible happens.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 5.0 based on 14 reviews)

Painfully real

How can you understand the searing desire to open a vein unless you are one of the many who use SI as a coping method? For those uninitiated who wish to see into the mind of a cutter, Melody Carlson has crafted an amazing glance into one branch of SI.

Ruth Anne is a brilliant student, with a close group of friends, and a family that looks normal on the outside; however, once through the doors of her parent's ranch-style house it is revealed that her father is verbally abusive, her mother is more ghost than person, and Ruth and her brother Caleb are struggling to cope with the chaos their life has become.

As a former member of the SI community, I really enjoyed how clearly this book portrayed the emotions and thoughts that can go through a cutter's mind before, during, and after breaking skin. My single complaint with the book was the rather sudden appearance of God in the storyline; while I was aware of the fact that the book was classified as religious, I was still slightly disappointed by Carlson's need to get the message of God out as the only way to truly quit cutting.

However, I still believe that this book can be a wonderful resource for creating a bridge of understanding between a teenage cutter and their parents, and for giving all involved a sense of hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
September 19, 2008

a bit of the cliche recovery BUT

this book is still good. i felt there were times that EVERYTHING was working so well for her, but then there would be realistic moments, so that was okay. Would have liked a little more of a look into the attributes of older cutters, and with maybe a more vague ending, because it's an addiction, a rehab cannot cure, but suppress.

However, with all that little nit-picky stuff, it is a book about cutting that is witten by someone I can actually belive interviewed cutters. So hats off, especially that it's a got a little notion of Christianity, haven't run across a book like this elsewhere, so that's why I continued to give this a five star rating.
December 01, 2007

Painful healing

I am so glad Carlson started writing teen literature. She has done miracles through her work. Thanks to her, we are seeing a refreshing vein in young adult Christian literature. There is now an alternative to the bland novels that Christian authors have written in the past for teens. Either we have the Lurlene McDaniel books where everybody dies, the perky Christy Miller series, or the historical fiction like Anne of Green Gables or Christy by Katherine Marshall which has little relevance for today's teen. I know that all of these have their audience, but what was missing was Christian fiction for today's teen. What teens seem to want these days is books about REAL problems they are facing daily in their schools: drugs, sexual pressure, and self-injury.

Carlson's books fill a much needed gap. I think her books could be enjoyed by Christians or non-Christians because it is real teens with real problems told in a non-judgmental way. Each character does use their faith to help them cope with a traumatic incident, but it is not done in a preachy way.

Blade Silver is part of the TrueColors series, with each book in a different color cover. The lead characters have all been girls, so far, and each book has been excellent. The voices of her characters are realistic and the voice is true to life.

In Blade Silver, Ruth has started cutting herself as a way to cope with the pain she is feeling. Her father verbally abuses her and her brother constantly. Her mother, also a victim, tried to kill herself and now lives in an almost catatonic state. Basically her mom sits in a bathrobe in her bedroom and sleeps all day, leaving Ruth and her brother to do all the chores and take the brunt of her husband's wrath. The reader follows Ruth as she starts to become more and more controlled by the urge to cut herself, at first only once a day and then finally three times a day. Ruth shows how a cutter thinks, wearing long sleeves to hide the slash marks, working in a detailed way to cut, stop the flow of blood, and clean up. I really like the descriptions Carlson gives of the pain Ruth is feeling inside:

"Like a drug, that warm feeling rises up in me, a sense that I have control again, that everything's going to be just fine. Then I watch the red ribbon of blood for just a split second before I press the toilet paper onto it. I breath deeply, and for the moment I am fine. Perfectly fine."

Ruth finally seeks help from a school counselor and ends up in a group home for girls like her. One of the counselors there ends up being a Christians, but these scenes are done in such a natural, non-preachy way that I don't think they would make anyone feel uncomfortable.

I encourage all young adult librarians to familiarize yourself with this series because they fly off the shelf at my library, and they booktalk great. I have also read Deep Blue: Color Me Lonely about a girl who is lonely when her best friend abandons her for a more popular crowd and Bright Purple: Color Me Confused, which deals with a character who learns her best friend is a lesbian. By the way, I wasn't sure if Carlson could pull off such a controversial topic without getting preachy, but she did. Thumbs up to Carlson!
August 29, 2007

Most Awesome Book Ever

To hide my lies and my problems is one thing to make sure that they never get out is a completely different thing. No one must ever find out the humiliating secrets that I have kept so long. The longer I hide them the worse they seem to get.

In this book Blade Silver by Melody Carlson, Ruth has a lot of family problems and her mom is very "sick". Her dad is abusive and Caleb, her younger bother is talking back a lot to their dad. Ruth has a very terrible secret that no one knows about. For the last year and a half she has been hiding this awful thing from everyone that she loves. Abby her best friend finally finds out what the secret is and Abby is in shock, disappointment and in disbelief that Ruth has never told her the secret.

I believe the beat part is when Ruth is starting to realize that a lot of people actually do care about her and want to help her out. After she realizes that then she starts to accept the help she is getting, then she starts to respect herself a lot more.
The entire theme or the main idea of this book is that you need to love yourself and after you do that then a lot more people will start to take you more seriously. This book really does teach you that you need to love yourself.

This book was the best book that I have ever read. I would recommend this book to mostly girls because it is a little girly, but a lot of people can relate to this book. I just think that this book is all around the best book that I have ever read. I gave this book four stars because it was so hard to put it down. I just wanted to see what was going to happen next.

June 05, 2007

Razor Sharp Pain

To say that Ruth doesn't have issues in an understatement. Her family is having problems. Her brother keeps running away from home. Her mother is depressed all the time. Her father is verbally abusive towards everyone in the family. Ruth is tired of putting up with all this, but feels that nothing she does can change it. The only thing that makes her feel better is when she cuts herself. The pain that comes from seeing her blood flow gives her a sense of calmness. But even Ruth knows that this wrong, but she can't seem to stop. She tries to hide it from others but someone wearing long sleeves in summer looks suspicious. It finally takes Ruth's admittance that cutting is an addiction that needs to be stopped for her to realize that she can do something to break the cycle that she's been living in.

This was one of the most difficult and painful teen fiction books I have ever read. It was so real, like I was reading an actual account of a teenage cutter. I wish that no one ever has to go through what Ruth did, but I know that there are so many kids who share the same experience. I could not stand Ruth's dad. I believe that verbal abuse is just as bad if not more so than physical abuse as inner scars are slower to heal. There is an explanation as to why he acted that way but I was glad that the story did not portray him unrealistically changing at the end of the book. It was horrifying to read about how Ruth would get a "high" from hurting herself in such a matter. Even worse because she would feel sometimes that she deserved it. I think that it was very sad that her extended family did not do anything to protect the kids from their abusive father. Ruth's recovery did not seem fake, in fact it only made it more realistic because it took her so long to accept help. Melody Carlson is gifted at bringing touchy subjects like this to life. The subjects in this series are difficult and not ones many Christians like to face. In fact, there are some who think that teens only face these kinds of issues because of a lack of faith. Thus, many teens especially those who are Christians find that they have no one to go to about their problems. This series shows readers what really happens out there, allowing for questions and advice about where to turn for help. I believe this is the first Christian book to mention cutting. There needs to be more books that talk about this subject as there are many people out there who need help.
May 31, 2007

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Bitter Rose: Color Me Crushed (TrueColors Series #8)
by Melody Carlson

Fool's Gold: Color Me Consumed (TrueColors Series #6)
by Melody Carlson

Burnt Orange: Color Me Wasted (TrueColors Series #5)
by Melody Carlson

Pitch Black: Color Me Lost (True Colors Series #4)
by Melody Carlson

Bright Purple: Color Me Confused (TrueColors Series #10)
by Melody Carlson